Cast interviews

Top dogs

Published: Tuesday, 16 October 2007, 4:28PM

Never work with children or animals, or so the saying goes anyway.  Here, the cast tell us about working with man’s best friend.

   
Kris Marshall (Michael)

Kris dubbed Archie, his canine co-star, Tom Cruise because he wouldn’t look him in the eye. 
“It was hard to bond with Archie on set because he always has his eye on trainer, Gill Raddings. Unless you had cream cheese smeared across your face.
“The dogs were all amazingly well trained. I remember reading the script and thinking, if this dog isn’t brilliant, it’s going to be a nightmare. But he was so good, better than me really… he is the only dog I’ve ever seen hit a mark. And he hit it every time. Remarkable.”

Diana Quick (Mrs Jessop)

Playing a Rottweiler breeder would have been a tall order for Diana were she not such a dog-lover herself.
"I have two dogs, a Lurcher and a Tibetan Terrier, and I really think the role would have been difficult to handle if you didn't love dogs.
"I had many scenes with the Rottweilers, especially the magnificent Klaus. He is a fantastic dog. He’s beautiful for a start, which helped because I had never met a Rotty and I was slightly dreading it to tell the truth. But they were wonderful animals.
"At the end of the film I have two big dogs either end of a scarf I'm holding and they jump up and have to appear quite aggressive. I would never have done that unless I had absolute faith in Gill (the dog handler) and her dogs."

Georgia Mackenzie (Sally)

When Georgia realised she would have to work closely with a Rottweiler she had visions of a slobbering, growling beast. She was sorely mistaken.
“I didn’t realise how docile they could be. Klaus was like a teddy bear. He was one of those dogs who leans on you. He’d fall over if I walked away.
“No one actually asked me if I liked dogs when they offered me the role. Luckily, I love them or it would have been a nightmare. Especially the times I had to smear cream cheese on my face so Archie would lick me. It was gross but if it meant we got the shot I was happy. We got most things down with the aid of sausages – the trainer, Gill, would be standing behind me with a piece of sausage and that was the only way Archie could gaze at me lovingly.
“I can’t say it made me want to start doing dog shows though. I watched a DVD of Crufts and it was quite scary. All the trimming, clipping and hair drying that goes on is incredible. These people are utterly focused.”

Gill Raddings (dog handler)

For the canine stars of Catwalk Dogs, Fox Terrier Archie and Rottweiler Klaus, the filming was full of non-stop action, stunts, and a host of new tricks.
Gill Raddings, founder of Stunt Dogs (and Archie and Klaus’ trainer) explains: “Catwalk Dogs was great for showing off the skills Archie and Klaus are capable of, but I had to teach them new things too. The script was packed full of stunts that I had to work on, ready for their scenes on set.
“The most complicated stunt is when Archie is being chased by a Rottweiler, and he has to jump onto the hood of a car, over the widescreen, onto the roof, and then down through the sunroof. It was the biggest stunt, and not one I’ve seen done before, but I was pleased with the challenge. To film it, we had to break it down into stages and use his favourite toy to get him to jump up onto the car, and then through the sunroof.”